Gender in music has been considered in terms of performance, genre, and audience cultures, yet gender politics within the music industry itself remains under-researched. Offering an opportunity to engage at the intersection between musical production, the creative industries and gender politics, this call for papers aims to bring together research that considers the gender politics of the music industry itself: of work relationships; the spaces of production; the processes of decision making; the creation of musical experiences in festivals and tours.

Moving on from the already substantial body of literature on gender on the musical stage, IASPM Journal, the journal of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music, wishes to encourage further research and debate in this area with a special issue that foregrounds the people, practices and places of the music industry, to be published in 2018. We are looking for a range of international perspectives from the different localities and cultures that IASPM represents. For this special issue, we are particularly interested in new approaches at the crossroads of topics that can include but are not limited to:

Music industry strategies to increase gender diversity

The gendered division of labour in music industries

Navigating the music industries beyond the gender binary

The gendered dimensions of precarious musical labour

The disruption or maintenance of a perceived industry “boys’ club”

Music career development and gender roles

The interaction between social media and industry on gender issues

Safety and inclusion in venues

Authors are encouraged to submit, by 28 August 2017, a 300-word abstract including an indicative title and references, showing engagement with relevant literature and other outputs, to Catherine Strong and Sarah Raine at [email protected]

Full papers will be invited by the 29 of September.

The deadline for full submission is 15 January 2018
Please register and submit online, and ensure you are a current member of IASPM.